"The problem is the number of people living in houses they can't afford"
The above was said by some talking bubblehead on PBS this morning on the show "To the Contrary". My reaction, upon hearing this, was "no fucking shit, huh?" So it appears that I agree with this airhead, right? Well yes, I agree with the symptom, but what we differ on greatly is the solution (not to mention the cause).
Her take on the cause was "sub-prime lending" and "predatory lending". I agree with her on the first (although I doubt she has a grasp on the cause of that... cause) but I frankly don't believe the second exists. Or, if we define it in such a way that it does exist, I don't see how that's anyone's fault but the borrower. Nor do I think the solution is anything other than letting those people lose their house.
Yes, in the short term this may "hurt" as we will increase the number of foreclosures, and empty houses, and drive house prices down, etc. all over again. But in the long term this is the only solution that can possibly work. Every single time we meddle in these things we create problems. The solution to meddling isn't to keep meddling. The solution, both short- and long-term is to leave it the fuck alone.
The adults that got themselves into these problems and that will face the consequences of their actions are a lost cause. But if you show their children that you can go through life being a moron and the government will bail you out then you are doing nothing to prevent this from happening again, and again, and again, generation after generation after generation. Just as it has to this point. We need to break the trend, and the only way to do that is to have some people suffer so that the intelligent among their children will see that suffering, attribute it to the stupid choices made by their parents, and resolve not to do the same dumb thing.
